A New Way To Protect Downhole Equipment From Sand Has Been Found
For this purpose, Tatneft began to use cascade filtration of suspended matter.
Tatneft has created an effective arrangement of well equipment for mechanized extraction of oil with mechanical impurities. The new solution provides step-cascade protection of downhole pumping equipment (DPE) from impurities.
The fact is that in wells with intensive sand production, existing methods and methods of protection are not always effective. “Oil News” writes about this.
This is caused by insufficient purification of the liquid by one filter element due to the significant content of suspended particles in the extracted products. This is stated by the head of the well fund operation department of the oil and gas production department of the Tatneft-Dobycha joint venture, Konstantin POKAZANEV.
The new layout option includes two methods of protecting downhole pumping equipment from the influence of mechanical impurities. The mechanical method is achieved through the use of filters in the lower and upper parts of the arrangement. The first part is autonomous, and the second is periodically retrieved.
The physical method of protection is possible due to the gravitational deposition of mechanical particles by changing the direction and speed of fluid flow in the sub-packer zone.
The cascade arrangement of well equipment increases the time between repairs by reducing the concentration of impurities at the inlet to the pump inlet filter. An additional zone of deposition of mechanical impurities is formed.
To do this, the lower part of the equipment connected to the production string is equipped with a self-cleaning filter. All this facilitates underground well repairs, Pokazaniev notes.
For this project, Konstantin Pokazaniev became a laureate of the 2023 competition for the youth prize in the field of science and technology “Hope of Russia”. It is conducted by the Russian Union of Scientific and Engineering Public Associations.
The Hope of Russia Prize is awarded to young scientists and specialists for the development of scientific and technological progress. The award was established in 2003 to increase the popularity of engineering and technical activities and create a positive image of the engineer.
